It’s our people that make the difference

Our partners and attorneys are highly qualified and highly experienced to advise you in all areas of Intellectual Property law. We advise start-ups, SMEs, and multinational corporations and ensure that your inventions, brands and designs are expertly protected.

Our specialist teams cover a huge range of industries and technical fields, from automotive and aerospace and electronics and electrical engineering to cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Services

At AA Thornton, we provide a comprehensive service offering to help you protect your Intellectual Property and maximise your assets. By combining the expertise of patent and trade mark attorneys, as well as solicitors within a single firm, we can offer you a customised comprehensive service.

International

Our clients range from multinational corporations, to SMEs, to individual inventors, across a broad spectrum of industries. Our client base is centred in the UK but covers many other parts of the globe, notably Europe, North America, India and the Far East. We also work for overseas attorneys and professional advisers, representing their clients’ Intellectual Property interests in the UK, Germany and Europe.

Latest News


AA Thornton IP LLP Shortlisted in Managing IP Awards 2024

We’re pleased to announce that AA Thornton IP LLP is shortlisted in three categories at the Managing IP Awards 2024. We also congratulate our partner Mike Jennings for his nomination as Patent Practitioner of the Year. Our firm is recognised for: UK Patent Disputes UK Trade Mark Disputes UK Patent Practitioner of the Year –… Read more »


Game, Set and Price-Match – Court of Appeal rules in the Lidl v Tesco case

In the recent appeals in the case of (1) Lidl Great Britain Limited and (2) Lidl Stiftung & Co KG v (1) Tesco Stores Limited and (2) Tesco plc [2024] EWCA Civ 262, the Court of Appeal has ruled in relation to Tesco’s appeal against the first instance findings that its Clubcard Prices logo infringed… Read more »


Mike Jennings takes on new roles in SACEPO for 2024-2026 term

AA Thornton IP LLP is committed to playing a proactive role in supporting and enhancing the European patent system. In alignment with this commitment, our partner, Mike Jennings, will extend his involvement with the Standing Advisory Committee before the European Patent Office (SACEPO) by taking on two new roles for the 2024-2026 term. Mike will… Read more »


Latest Insights


How Patents Protect Innovations in Crewed Spaceflight

The following article was first published on Space East’s website. Manufacturers routinely obtain patent protection for different aspects of familiar everyday products. Smartphone companies and carmakers, for example, might each file hundreds, if not thousands, of patent applications annually. However, patents are also used to protect innovations in much more specialist fields, including space travel…. Read more »


IP-Driven Clean Technology – National Vision for Engineering Biology

The UK government has recently positioned clean technology at the core of its new initiative, the “National Vision for Engineering Biology,” launched in December 2023. With a substantial £2 billion investment, this policy highlights the government’s dedication to driving sustainable innovation. The funding aims to advance research and development in areas such as renewable biofuels,… Read more »


Comma Conundrum: Avoiding Pitfalls in Patent Claims

In Intellectual Property law, particularly for patents, precision in language and punctuation is crucial. If not used correctly, something as simple as a comma can lead to the loss of a patent. A pertinent illustration of this is the EPO’s Board of Appeal decision T 1473/19 in which a missing comma in a claim led… Read more »